Response from Mr Paul Kingsnorth (Individual)
1. Mr Paul Kingsnorth (Individual) : 6 Sep 2013 11:42:00
Please add your response below, quoting the further proposed main modification reference number or relevant document title including reference to section / page / paragraph: (limit 3000 words)
Reference MM072U - Amend Development Plan Boundary to incorporate site RN193 in Ulverston
Dear SLDC,
Reference MM072U - Amend Development Plan Boundary to incorporate site RN193 in Ulverston
I am writing to object in the strongest possible terms to the inclusion of this site in the Development Plan Boundary. To do so would be a disaster.
I am a resident of The Gill. I walk the Gill Banks footpath every day, as do countless other Ulverstonians. This area is a precious green space in the heart of our town, and this development would fatally compromise its character.
I object to the inclusion of this land in the development plan because:
a) Gill Banks is a special, rare green space. I note that SLDC observes how rare this is in the middle of Ulverston. My children play there almost daily and I have spent much time walking the stream edge, picnicking on the grass with my family, spotting flowers, picking blackberries and enjoying its distinctive character. New housing would wreck much of this and would be one more nail in the special character of our town.
b) The risk of flooding by building on this land would be significant. There are already serious problems in Ulverston with flooding - as I know, as a Gill resident myself. You cannot concrete over a large area of green space like this without the water going somewhere, which is what is being suggested by building on these two green fields into which water currently disappears. The water will then join the already flooded drains and guttering, exacerbating flood risk still further. To build here would be irresponsible madness.
c) Traffic and transport problems associated with access would be great, introducing significant traffic onto narrow streets which are not designed to cope with this volume. Mowings Lane is only used at present by six households. Union Lane is a narrow, twisting road which has a particularly dangerous access point on Stanley Street, right by the health centre. It will be a disaster, on narrow, resident-filled streets which jostle round the health centre complex.
d) Building significant housing development by Gill Banks will mean that wildlife habitat is lost. Bats and Tawny owls use Gill Banks. I have seen numerous butterfly species there and many varieties of insect life. All of this will be impacted by these developments.
A family from America, friends of ours, recently visited us in Ulverston. They stayed in a B&B on Old Hall Road and walked down the Gill Banks footpath to reach our house. After another four days spent exploring the mountains of the central Lake District, they contacted me to say thank you - and to explain that, in all their time in Cumbria, it was Gill Banks - not Helvellyn or Grasmere - which they remembered. I quote from their email:
In our four days touring about, walking the footpath to the Gill and back for dinner at your place remains a highlight! We have mountainous splendor galore in the US, but nary an old mossy path through the woods in the center of town...
I hope that SLDC will take note, and show as much appreciation for this special place as visitors from the other side of the world do.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Kingsnorth
